MATHESON: Oilers want Chiasson back, but at what price?

Alex Chiasson was one of the few bright spots in another dreary Edmonton Oilers season last year, with his career-high 22 goals, but the clock’s ticking on his July 1 free-agency path with other NHL teams allowed to make their sales pitches starting the day after the NHL draft ends June 23.

So far, all quiet on the western front.

“Ken (GM Holland) and I have talked but nothing serious,” said agent Pat Morris.

Holland has had a full plate since he was hired a month ago, but of his NHL team unrestricted free-agents — Alex Petrovic, Kevin Gravel, Anthony Stolarz — Chiasson is clearly his most pressing issue. Chiasson’s 22 goals may be a one-off after he signed that tryout $650,000 deal last fall, but when given the chance for the first time in his NHL career to play in the top six, he wasn’t overwhelmed. Maybe he’s better served to be a third-line RW and net-front power-play presence, but he could still score 12-15 goals and get 35 points. How much is that worth, and for how long?

How about the same money as Zack Kassian ($1.95 mil) for three years? Almost identical career numbers, and both role players, and both 28? Holland has likely talked to countless Oilers people and has heard the same stories about Chiasson’s character, his work ethic, his leadership, his size around the net and deflection ability on the PP, but also the fact he’s not a great skater in a racehorse NHL today. He likely doesn’t want to give him home-run numbers off one 22-goal year in a new deal. Somebody else can do that July 1.

If Chiasson, off those 22 snipes, can get Derek Ryan ($3 mil a year x 3) like the role-playing, right-shot centre got from Calgary last summer, great. Holland would like him back but not at that price. So maybe he wants a few days after July 1 to see how the dust clears, or he offers three years at $2 million now to Morris, an agent he’s done countless deals with over the years.

Chiasson was fourth in Oiler goals behind Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Only eight other teams had more than four guys with more than his 22 goals. His 17.2 shooting percentage was 22nd in the NHL but that’s probably not going to happen again, off his career average 12.7 percent. Still, he’s a big body who can tip pucks.

“He goes to where you have to go to score goals,” said former head coach Ken Hitchcock.

A team comparable is probably Kassian. Kassian has played 466 games with 67 goals and 143 points. Chiasson has played 454 games and has 81 goals and 162 points. Kassian had a career high 15 goals last year.

Maybe the Oilers see Chiasson as more fourth-liner if they get deeper at forward and the team actually makes the playoffs—he was streaky last year, going almost two months with a goal—but for now he’s a top 9 player until Tyler Benson and Kailer Yamamoto and others push him farther down the lineup. He had 38 points last season.

“I want to be back here,” Chiasson said repeatedly during the season and afterwards.

One salient fact: in one season, he became part of the team leadership group. And not just because he had a Cup ring from Washington. He analyzed his game and the team’s game after wins and losses as Mark Letestu did, with great thought. No stick handling.

Two or three years at $2 mil average would seem in Holland’s price range for Chiasson, not the fastest skater but smart and also able to kill penalties.

“I would think Chiasson would be attractive as a free-agent to teams in the Western Conference who saw him a lot last year, and probably the Islanders with his former Washington coach Barry Trotz,” said an NHL executive.

Yaroslavl not Siberia

Craig MacTavish is laying low and not talking about his adventurous moving to Russia to coach but Dave King used to be in Yaroslavl where the former Oilers VP of hockey ops is going. He loved his time there.

“Craig’s a good hockey man and it’ll be a great experience for him. They’re in a conference with Moscow Dynamo, Red Army and Podolsk, all Moscow teams, so his travel from his location is very, very good. Yaroslavl is close to Moscow with the train a short hop away. The city’s got good stores, North American amenities,” said King.

“The team has amazing facilities. Their competitive rink is beautiful and after the (2011) plane crash, the Russian government also put a lot of money into an Olympic training centre with a rink, dormitories. The players can live on-site with their families. There’s a baby-sitting service. It’s first rate,” said King, who nevertheless realizes it’s a different bag for a North American coach.

“You have to coach with a translator but that can be quite enjoyable because you have to pick your words carefully and keep it concise. Maybe it makes you a little sharper than just speaking English,” said King.

This ’n that: Winger Jesse Puljujarvi is reportedly spending time on the ice with Oilers skating coach David Pelletier after his hip surgery three months ago. Holland’s only dipped his toe in the water in terms of talking about a new deal for the restricted free-agent forward. The Oilers see him as a third-line RW for now, playing with a centre who can push the pace and get him the puck … With coach Dave Tippett hired here, would the Oilers change gear and think of re-upping Tobias Rieder, even if OEG chair Bob Nicholson said late in the season that the German winger wasn’t coming back? Rieder had his best years under Tippett in Arizona where Tippett used him over 17 minutes a game.

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